Automatic multiple-tapping machine



June 19, 1923. 1,458,948

' P.V MEYER AUTOMATIC MULTILE TAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1a. 1921 2 sheets-sheet 1 June19,1923." 1,458,948

` P. MEYER AUTOMATIC MULTIPLE TAPPING MACHINE Filed Nov.A 18. 1921 2 sheets-sheet 2 4a 31 @www AroR/vfy Patented June 19,1923.

w UNITED:STA-TES 1,458,948 PATATE/NT"QFFICEN rEfrE'it MEYEEof 'ivEwAEKg ivEw .TER/SEX.'

AUTOMATIC iuULTIPLELTAPPING MACHINE."

- Application i'le'd Novembery 18,` 1921. Serial No. 516,057. i

To allfwltvo'm it may concern." i.

yBe it known that I, PETER MEYER,v a citik Inode contemplated to apply the principle thereof, so asI to distinguish it from other inventions and lto enable .any person skilled' in the art towhich it appertainsfor with which it is mostv nearly connected to make,l

construct, and use thesame.- f

This invention relates primarily to a tapl ping machine andmore particularly toa ma-L.V

chine adapted to tap holes in small parts used in phonographs, clocks, electrical or similar appliances. A

The invention contemplates as its primary object a simple automatic:4 tapping machine having one or more tapping spindles.

Another object is fxto :provide means whereby several-holes canv be tapped .automatically-in one operationregardless of-their spacing relative toeach other.

A furtherobj ect is to provide `a simple Yand inexpensive d cont-rivance to 'hold' the workv v motors.

during the tapping operations.' l

A further object is to provide meanscon nected Awith the work Aholders to' permit the workto float on `the tap during the tapping and reversal of the tap in the work, without stripping the thread therein.

This invention comprises a series of tapping` spindles adjustably mounted, reversing means to rotate saidtaps` in either direction, a work table,vmeans to'intermittently rotate said table.y during the non-t-apping period, means to lock said table during the tapping operation, means to feed said table toward and from said tapping spindlesand means connected tothe tableirotatingand feedingmeans'to control the reversing of' said-tapping spindles; Y

Other objects will be-'apparent from, and are incorporated in the annexed drawings and in the .following description', which sets forth in detail, certain contrivancesembody-'- ing means constituting however, but one of the various mechanical forms in which the:

principle of the invention may be used.

. The lnovelty of the invention will bel read.:l

'ilyunderstood from V`the drawings, which show aconstr-uction forvpractising .the invention in its preferred form, and from the following descriptionl thereof,` the invention being more specicallypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims annexed'to saidv description. A l

In the drawings: I `j Fig. l is anelevation of the invention il-y lustrating the general construction.

. Fig. 2 shows the interrupted.geararraiige- I l mentl for intermittently Vrotating or posi-I tioning the work table. y

F ig.l 3 is a side view of ksame.` Fig. 4 illustrates the feeding'arrangenient vlower part" of Fig. 1` and lshows thevtap 're-f versing control connected to the table'oper4 ating means.

ofthe work table towardand from'the tap.-

Figs. 7 and 8 are fragmental side views of the upper portion of Fig. -1 showing the tap' reversing control lever arrangement.y

Fig. 9l is an enlarged view ofthe adjustable tap control. cam. f-

Fig. l0 isa side elevation of same. Fig. V11- is a plan view 'of a series 'of tap-I ping spindles each connected to vindividual Fig.` 12' isla' side elevation of the work holding device. f Y, f v F'g. 13 is an end `view ofthe work ,holderkv showing the upper portion separated-from@ v the lower or clamping means.

F ig. 14 isan' enlarged; sectional View of` the tap holder. f i Referring particularly tofFig. 1 the pulleys l and 2 are arranged to rotate on a suit.-y able stud in. the .conventional `manner and are connected to anyv suitable sourceof power. The pulley 2 has secured to it ythe gear 3 whichfmeshes withV andvr'otates-the gear 4. A ,shaft mounted inthe .iframe/6 isrotated by said gear y4 and has secured to; the other end the bevel 'gear .7 which meshes with thel bevel gear 8.` vA shaft 9 vertically arrangedin-the frame: 6 is rotated by the bevel gear 8..

A gear 10 with thereof is securedto and rotates `withsaid teeth cut. in only a lpartl shaft 9 andengages' with an interruptedor more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 is similar in action to thefGeneva stop motion. .The gears and 11 can be operated 1n elther direction but are shown rotating in one di` rection only to enable the correlation ot motions of the entire mechanism to be more clearly described. The gear 11 is preferably provided with six sets of teeth between each of which there is a semicircularpart 12 removed. The teeth of the gear 10 are shown in mesh with one set of teeth on the gear 11, and further rotation of the gear 10 will bring the solid portion 13. of gear 19 into the semicircular part 12, whereupon motion of gear 11 ceases until the teeth on gear 10 again come into contact with the neXt series on gear 11. It will be seen y[from the construction as shown that the inter rupted gear 11 is rotated only duringpart of the revolution of the gear 1() and is then substantially locked for a definite period..

The interrupt-ed vgear 11 is secured to a guide sleeve 14 and to the work table 15. A locking plate 16 is fastened to the upper part 'of the work table 15. The gear 11, guide sleeve 14 and plate 16 are rotatably and slidably mounted on the cylindrical column 17, which is secured to the frame 6. A crossfbar 18 is secured to the lower end of the guide sleeve 14 and is arranged to be guided in the slots 19. A link 20 hinged at 21 to said cross bar 13 is operated in a. vertical direction by the cam 22 in contact with the roller 23 on the link 20. A slot 24 is provided in the link 20, through which the cam shaft 25 passes. The cam shaft 25 is mounted in the frame 6 and is rotated by the bevel gear 26, meshing with the gear 27 secured to the vertical shaft 9.' 4

'The cam 22 which is connected to the work table positioning mechanism raises or lowers the work ktable 15 during the period when the solid portion 13 of the gearlO is in the semi circular part 12 of gear 11. The locking plate 16 is provided with six loeating holes 28 corresponding in numberl to the semi circular portion 12 in the interrupted gear 11. A pin 29, secured in the ring 30 on the column 17 is arranged to enter the holes 28 and positively locate and lock the work table 15 whenthe same is raised toward the taps 31.

The column 17 is provided at its upper end with a plate 32 upon which the tapping spindle holders 33 are mounted. n the drawings three tapping spindles are shown which are particularlyv adapted to tap the contact plates in electrical fuses. Itis ol vious, however, that any number of spindles may be employed within the range of the machine.

Individual motors 34 are provided for each tap. For a single purpose arrangement the tapping spindles can be rotated from a common source or suitable universal joints can be provided to permit some adjusta-bility to the -tap spindles.V

The motors 34 are each suitably secured to their respective spindle holders 33. The

plate 32 is provided with a keyway 35 to limit the adjustmentof the middle motor in one direction only. A clamping screw 36 secures themiddle motor and spindle holder 33 to the plate A slot 37 in the holder 33 and through which clamp screw 3G passes, permits `en-dwise movements of the motor. The two end motors and tap spindle holders are secured to the plate 32 in a similar manneras just described, with this'exception that the keyn way is omitted to permit the end motors to be adjusted in any direction within lthe limits of the slots provided.

The motor shaft 38 is provided with a friction wheel 39, which is alternately'engaged by the friction disks 40 and 41 to frictionally rotate the tappi-ng spindle 42y in either direction. The friction disks 40 and 41 are adjustably secured to a sleeve 43 whereby the disks can be adjusted to insure proper frictional contact with the friction gear 39. The adjustment means for the disks is not shown and can be of any conventional type. The disks 40 and 41 can be made of diierent diameters to vary the rotative speed.

The sleeve 43 is fastened to the tapping spindle 42 to rotate same in either direction. The spindle 421is rotatably mounted in the carrier 44 slidablyarranged in the holder 33. Rack teeth 45 provided on said holder 33 engage with a pinion 4G whereby the tapping spindle 42 is raised and lowered.

The tap 31 is secured in a chuck 47 by means of a screw 48. chuck 47 slides through a bush 50" in the spindle 42. A shoulder 51 on the'stem 49 limits the downward movementy ot the chuck 47, a spring 52 presses the chuck 47 in a downward direction and pro'- vides a resilient means for the tap 31, when entering the work to be tapped. The chuck 47 is rotated by pins 53. secured there# to4 and slidably arranged in the spindle 42.

The means spindle 42 either up or down, at theproper time in the cycle of operation, so as to reverse its rotation, consistsI of cam 54 secured to and'rotating with the shaft 25. A similar cam 55 is adjustably arranged with respect to cam 54, as. shown in Figs. 9 and. 10, so as to vary the width ofthe depres sion 56. Bolts 57 in vs-lofts 58 maintain' the cams in. the adjusted position.. A roller 59 operates on both faces-ofV the cams 54 and 55 and is controlled by their form.` The'.

lever 60 to which-the roller 59y isf secured is ulerumed inthe bracket; 61 andl has a rod 62 attached tothe other end fthereoi`.. y

A stem 49 on thef for moving the tapping rotated during the 'tapping operation.l

pivots ina bracket 611 secured to'plate A short link connects'lever 63 with the fcrankfarm 66.. :A-shaft Gjournalled inV the column 171is c'onneoted'tothecranl arm 66 and has a cam 68 secured'to-the other end 1 thereof; The lcam 68 is circular' "in formw with the exception-of. a flat-portion 69.

59 in contactzwith cams tand also maintains the -sliding member 7 0 against .the lcam 68. Slots 72 areprovided in thesliding member to ,permitxvertic-al movement without. interfering with vthe'sha'ft 67 Two semi-circular projections 7 Snare provided on the slidingmember 70 and. formlV a groove in which the@A tap spindle operating levers@ can be' arranged. Y a

,The tap operatinglever Meis secured to an arm 75' fastened. .to a shaft'76, rotatably -mounted in the holder B3n-The rack pinionv .46 isv secured Jto'and operated by thev shaft 76to raise and lower the tapsV yThe semi-circularprojections.=73 Vcan be of anyv convenient. proportions toy enable the tapping spindles to be properly located and proper .contact with .the tapoperating levers y curately locate-'andloclrthe.l

The work hol'd'ing';`meansmore 4Clearly illustratedin Figs12zand 13. are six in numberend equivalent. to the number of the in.y terruptions ongeary11., .Three work .holders are used for the tapping operation and threef for loading andl ejecting` the parts operated upon. y f

theat platesusedin fuseplugs. Fourpins piece is Vlocatedand is prevented from being v,The `pins ,'78 jareextendedy considerably beyond the blocks for the .purpose-ot per?.v

mitting the work pieces to float 1up and down during the tapping operation.V The floating action is `very essential to preventthe 'strip-v ping ofthreads and `to maintain correct and uniform `sizing of theztapped holes.

The bolster 79 is. adaptedtoi clamp the work holders Tr' by means ofthe slot-8.0and` bolt and nut 81. These bolsters arefsecured:

to the lwork table` 15,. relatively to the spaces l2 inf-the; interrupted ygear 11. A guide plate 82 is provided on the holsters to locate the work holders 77.

A work ejecting device is arranged within the bolsters 7 9 and consists of a lever 83 pivotedat 84 to operate 'the ejecting pin 85. The work rests upon the work holders 77 and the ejecting pin 85 slides through the holder directly beneath the work. A spring 86, located between the bolster 79 vand the 1Theworltholding bloclr shaped to;` suit the. piece to betapped. In the drawingsthe'vworlrfholders are formedespecially. for

fastened to thefframe`6. f IThe ejecting lever=83"is brought in contact withflthe cam piece 87 whenthe-.'worlrtable is rotated-vy and thereby compressesI the spring 86. lVhen the ejecting lever SSisreleased.

the 'spring 186y -snaps the lever 83 'upwardly the-'pins 78.- y

The operation. of they mechanism willv now be' described. vThev tapping-spindlesl :are

properly vadjusted inaccordanceI` with* the position of the holesto be tapped. v The workfisinserted 'between 'the pins 7.8 either f by hand or bymea'ns'oia suitablehopperfas evjectingf lever' 837 'is' compressed by thecarri. `piece 8 y and the:workp`iece is ejected from between i A- sliding member 70 is arrangedto move. along the col-umnl? .and is operated by the 'my f cam 68.' A spring 71which keeps the roller.;

indicated at 88.- The pulley' 2 rotates-conf?- tinu'ouslyand operates the entire mechanism with'th'e exceptionbf rotating the taps whichin this case is accomplished by motors# f The work table isjust completingy its posi-v tioning movement as indicated in Figs. 2'

and 8. The cam22 has started tof-raise the'- work table-to'bring lthe work into Contact "with theyrotating tapsk 3Lvv :Rotary .motion-i of the :table will bei stopped .with'the blank:

portion 13""as lthe pinion 10` is in contact.

with{semi-'circularsection 12 yon gear 1 1. The vertical movenientkof theta'ble. through .I y cam 22 will ycontinue .and the pinVV 29 Iwill actap regardless ofthe4 rate of upwardmotion of the .worlrrelative to'ftherrotationv fof the taps. By utilizing'the4 spring-means. for

actually ,feeding the tap together.with the provisions ontherywork. holdery-,to .permit the-,work to; float7 itzis .possible to `obtain, threaded holes accurately sized. -fgThis ar los 1 rangement also eiectively prevents the'stripf-Q-, 78 .are provided between which. the work Y- ping' ofthreads. and reduces` the "scrapjto a .-.Further rotation'of 22a-Hows the v i table tov be lowered bygravity. Atthesame., timethefopeninggin the-cams'le and 55v per@ -,mits the springy 71 to operate lewara60dov'vn-H .wardlyn "llhe,downwardmotion-of lever 60 operates the cranlrarm=66 inthe. same. direc- `tion'and rotates-'Cam 68 Jcobring. the .flat 69 beneaththe y'projection173).y (This actionvof y [cam 6 8 permits lthe member 704 to slide down-n l ward gravity andoperate thelevers 74H togbring vthe upper tapping ,f friction wheel 4:1 in. Contact `with thedrive friction 39 movement taps three holes, one in each-'piece the location oiev the tapping` spindles. lAs the work table is rotatedthe ejecting lever 83 is depressed against the spring. by `the` cam 87 and when released therefrom the* Each lvertical y l i of work and positioned in `accordance with rwith only one tapped hole.

spring operates to eject the Work from the holder.

The mechanism described' is for the single purpose of tapping and the various adjustments provide a flexible structure for a wide variety of Work.

The number of tapping spindles `can be varied in accordance with the number of holes to be tapped in any one piece. 'The vtaps can be located to suit the rela-tive positions of the tapped holes.

The cams 5i and 55 can be adjusted to vary the dwell for tapping during the up- Ward movement of the table in accordance with the different pitches of the threads to be tapped.

In structures heretofore. used the scrap due to inaccurately sized holes or stripped threads has been considerable. Wvith floating arrangement on the tap and Work holder the scrap has been reduced toa very small percentage.

The output of machines heretofore used has been about eighteen pieces per minute lVith the construction shown it has been possible to obtain thirty per minute, with three tapped holes and with considerable less Waste.

' In structures for tapping similar pieces the work holders were made in one piece and a set became very expensive. In this device only that part which varies with the character of the work is replaced for-different shaped pieces to be tapped. The arrangement shown materially reduces the expense of maintaining a series of differently shaped work holders.

Having described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In combination a series of tapping spin# dles` a reversing device therefor, a series of work holders, Aa constantly rotating member, means operated by said member to intermittentlyposition said Work holders relative to said spindles, means to move said Work hold:-v ers toward and fromV said spindles, and means to operate said reversing device, said last two mentioned means connected to said constantly .rotating member.

2. In combination aseries of tapping spindies, a reversing device therefor, a series of work holders, a constantly rotating shaft, intermittent gearing connected to said' shaft to position said Work holders relative to said spindles, a cam connected to 'said shaft to move said Work holders toward and from said spindles, and means connected to said shaft to operate saidreversing means.

3. In combination a series of tapping spmdl'es, a reversing device therefor, a series oL Work holders, aconstantly.. rotating shaft,

means connected to said shaft to intermittently position said Work holders relative to said spindles, other means operated by said shaft to move said Work holders toward and from said spindles, an adjustable cam connected to said shaft, andl connections. from said cam to operate said reversing device."

4. In combination a series of tapping spindles, a reversing` device therefor, a Work table, a series of Work holders secured thereto,

a constantly rotating member, means oper-V ated by said member to intermittently position'saidl Work table, other means connected to said member to mo've said Work table toward and from said spindles, a locking device to prevent rotation of said work table during` its movement toward and from said spindles, and means connected to said rotating member to operate said reversing means.

5. Incombination aseries of tapping. spin`- dles, a reversing device therefor, a series of Work holders, a constantly rotating member, means operated by said member to intermitL tently position said Work holders relative lto said spindles, means operated by said member to move said Work holders toward and fromsaid spindles, a resilient tap feeding device on said tapping spindles, and means connected'to said rotating member to oper ate said reversing means. Y

6. In a. tapping machine the combination of a tapping spindle, a reversing device therefor, a work holder, means to feed said Work holder and spindle toward each other including a resilient device on lsaid spindle toequalize the tapping pressure, means on"` lseries of projections extending from-said work holder Within which the Worky is lo-v cated and whereby the same is permitted to float during said feedingy motion, and means to o eratesaid reversingmeans.

Signed' this lst day of November 1921.

. PETER.. MEYER. 

